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Panda (Classic) Charmania

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Introduction

Just finished a little project in time for Brooklands, so some of you may have seen it there. Bought just before Christmas coz my Daughter needed to upgrade from a pushbike back into a car, and I wanted to get some ideas out of my head and into the metal ;).

I did lend her one of my Pandas while she waited for this one, so please don't think I made her cycle through the winter just coz Daddy wants to play :p.

Some pictures of the finished item.........











She's a Fiat Panda 750 Mania (Daughters name is Charmain, hence the threads title) Bought from Ebay for £103.
No tax or mot, poor performance, and no exhaust silencer, but bags of potential :). This was her the first day on my drive....





First part of the plan was to get her road legal, briefly, this involved

£80 of welding to inner sills.
Replace o/s/f wheel bearing.
New tailpipe.
Re-set cam timing.
Full service and clean up.

After this little lot the total cost was about £250 and this is how she now looked............



Now for the fun stuff :D.

Again, briefly, this is a list of work carried out to bring her from the above picture to finished.

Go faster stripe made from cutting up a couple of viper stripe kits and making my own design.
Wheels and tyres from a 127 sport, refurbed by myself and fitted with 10mm spacers on the rear.
New standard shocks with new Spax coil springs lowering car by about 40mm.
Replace side repeaters with Rover items fitted with chrome bulbs.
Replace orange front indicators with clear ones, also with chrome bulbs.
Clean and paint suspension and brake parts as I go.
Remove gearbox, free off and lubricate clutch mechanism and gearchange linkage.
Strip interior, refit using light grey trim from another of my Pandas.
Fit Seicento Sei front seats.
Fit sportier pedals, gearknob, steering wheel, and chequered trim to door handles and horn button, plus red/grey overmats.
Make custom roof lining to tie in with chequers theme.
Fit radio/cd player & six speakers (2 x dash, 2 x rear side panels, 2 x rear parcel shelf ).

I think that's everything. If anyone would like to know more,full build details can be seen in these two threads which have been running since before day of purchase..

https://www.fiatforum.com/auction-watch/215832-another-red-mania-birmingham.html

https://www.fiatforum.com/panda-classic/219521-charmania-chapter-two.html
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Reactions: Vaam, panda panda, Panda Mo and 1 other person
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Well the AA man tried some Kseal in the hope it would seal the leak but it was not to be, so I ended up driving the 40 miles home looking at the back of a yellow Transit :(.
So, Charmania's back on the drive and that's where she'll stay until she says sorry :p.
 
On the front bracket for the tie bar there is an oval hole on one side, the hook at the end of his bar was just small enough to go through this and lock closed. The tow bar can be angled down from here to clear the bumper, then after two feet there's a splined joint that allows the bar to angle back up to the vans towball.
 
VmanC said:
Thank you, and welcome to the classic Panda section, I'm guessing you're usually looking at UNOs.

Well Charmania managed the 18 mile drive to the workshop under her own steam ( literally :p ), I don't understand why everyone was so keen to pass me? :rolleyes:
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Because their view was obscured from behind and they wanted a good look.
~Obviously.
 
Well I had to do the head gasket yesterday afternoon. The white clx is going to Cardiff on loan for a few months so I needed another Panda that was usable asap, just in case the snow comes back :D. At least now when the engine is finally removed it will be fit for use in someone else's Panda.
 
Please start using search option, it's preaty rude not to! Please type 'seicento seats' and that is all.
In other way some users will start to ignore you, if thay are not already.
 
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Yes we've still got her :p.

Well after a 350 mile round trip on Sunday to pick up a camping trailer we've bought from Paula (Urchin), Charmainia is our only Panda with a towbar, she had an mot test today, or should I say yesterday :eek:.

Failed on the horn :bang:. I never use it so hadn't noticed it had stopped working. I'll be fitting another one in the morning at the garage so they can issue me with a ticket straight after. :).

With 12 months mot and 6 months tax I think it's a good time to finally sell her, so look out for a classified ad. soon. :cry:
 
Well yesterday wasn't as straightforward as I had hoped. :(

Went to the garage and fitted another horn, (n). It worked if I gave it an earth so the problem was somewhere between the horn and the steering column. I couldn't fix it there so had to go away without my stiffikit.

Finally found the problem to be in the multi switch that controls the wipers/indicators etc. I fitted a spare and all was well, apart from, now I don't have self parking wipers. checked a couple of other switches I have in others Pandas and they were the same as the replacement :(. Seems that Charmania's original switch is different to every other switch I have available.

Anyway, the lack of self parking wipers is not an mot failure so I now have that :), just need to find a switch that give me back my full compliment of wiper functions. Hey ho!
 
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